Toric's Dagger

Book One of the Weapon Takers Saga

By: Jamie Edmundson

Narrated by: Greg Patmore, Bridget Thomas

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

A fast-paced and action-packed adventure, set in a detailed and compelling fantasy world.

Toric's Dagger is just another religious relic, until it's stolen. Belwynn and her twin brother, Soren, volunteer to lead a team tasked with its retrieval. Drawn into a world of danger and treachery, they must rely on Soren's magical abilities, and on the telepathic bond they share.

Now, as kingdoms and empires start to fall, the twins confront the dark forces that threaten them. They must not let the Dagger fall into the wrong hands. But when mercenaries, zealots, and sorcerers are all hunting for the same weapon, who should they trust?

Book one of the Weapon Takers saga, an epic fantasy series in the tradition of Tolkien, Tad Williams, & George R. R. Martin. The story is told from multiple points of view and is perfect for listeners who like their fantasy done on a grand scale.

Connect with the author at jamieedmundson.com.

"Outstanding...Quite simply, this is the most fun I've had reading since the Kingkiller Chronicles" (readper)

©2017 Jamie Edmundson (P)2018 Jamie Edmundson

Good Start to the Series

I listened to Toric’s Dagger as an audiobook. It has two narrators for each of the main characters, one male and one female, which provided a unique listening experience.

Toric’s Dagger was an interesting book, and I really loved the worldbuilding throughout the book. There are some very cool pieces of history around the dagger and the religious and historical importance of it. There are also introductions to very different cultures and how they work.

The two main characters, Belwynn and Soren, had a really interesting relationship with some awesome abilities. The magic system that Soren used had consequences which can be seen frequently when he overdoes himself, however, it is often the saving move which gets them out of a multitude of issues. The rest of the main cast is large, and as such a lot of their motivations aren’t developed as much as I’d like.

The plot flowed well for most of the book with a few red herrings and events linking back to things that happened earlier. I did have a bit of issue with where the book ended, however. In my opinion, it ended right in the middle of the climax without a real ending to wind the tension down. I wasn’t a massive fan of this because it detracts from the feeling of the novel being its own story, and makes it feel more like it’s just trying to wind up to the rest of the series.

Interesting start

This story starts out like it was trying to shock you. They introduce the two main characters as thieves/con artist. For me it didn’t quiet feel right. It felt like I was jumping into a story that was already started and I was behind. The book continues this way for a while, building the various characters’ stories up. Personally, I found it hard to follow through the audio book, but that’s on me far more than the writer or narrators.
In a similar style, the world building slowly develops, introducing various factions and races. Yet like with the characters, I felt just a little missing.

Overall, the story was a well told one about a misfit group of characters that join on a quest to recapture a stolen dagger. Intrigue and deception follow suit and nothing goes according to plan, as it usually doesn’t. As the story builds, so does the mystery of where it is going. Though the ending is very abrupt I look forward that next book to see where these characters go and how this war unfolds.

Great start

Great start to the series. Epic fantasy story with a cliffhanger of an ending. 2 different narrators. I actually love that idea of 2 narrators. Makes me definitely want to hear more.

An Epic Tale of a Dangerous Quest

If you're looking for a high stakes adventure that's reminiscent of an epic journey like Odysseus, then this is your story! I quite enjoyed the creativity and the world building within Toric's Dagger, even if the cliff hanger of an ending left me at a complete loss of words and a swirling sense of anger. The only slight problem I had with this story is that I couldn't shake the feeling I was being privvy to a DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) campaign more than enjoying a story. That feeling took me out of the story for the majority of the time I was listening to it, and while I appreciated Patmore's delivery, his various voices didn't do much to help that problem of mine. The narration, however, was also reminiscent of a father reading to their child with unique and outlandish voices and if someone enjoys that, I would really recommend giving this a listen! That style just wasn't for me. I also wanted to hear more of Thomas, rather than her just being limited to the narration of the female characters. Do I have mixed feelings on whether I enjoyed this or not? Yes. Do I think others should give it a chance? Also yes! I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have, but I'm really glad I did get a chance to read it!

Loved it

Awesome audio book! I absolutely love books that have more than one narrator, it draws me into the book more and this book was amazing in and of itself. If that makes any sense. They story pulled me in and I loves getting to know the characters and the world. Can't wait for more!

A great adventure

My husband and I listened to this together and we both really enjoyed it. Neither of us really care for multiple narrators and it took a bit to get into the story for us because of that. However, once we got hooked it was a fantastic story.

A grand Tolkien-ish journey!

I was not familiar with Jamie Edmonson's work, other than the blurb, but The Weapon Taker's Saga sounded very interesting.
When it came to this narration, I was thrilled! It was fantastic; Bridget Thomas and Greg Patmore did a fabulous job bringing the multitude of characters to life with various accents & feelings. In Toric's Dagger, it was particularly welcome, due to the sheer volume of characters in this Tolkien-ish adventure.
The story slowly unfolds in perhaps the first third to half of the book, with the opening of the story highlighting a small band of adventurers. Soren, a sorcerer still learning to control his use of magic. His twin sister, the lovely troubador Belwyn, puts crowds into a trance-like state as she sings. A couple of exiled Kreekers(sp?) One of which is a smithy, good with weaponry, both with hard scaly skin. Add in a couple of mercenaries, a guide/tracker, a healing priestess who claims to speak with the gods, & her new acolyte, who carries secret, this is the group who ultimately is sent on a quest to retrieve a holy relic, Toric's Dagger. The characters aren't really developed, not the main focus of the story, but along the way, some of their backstories are revealed. As they travel, they cross into various cultures and lands, running into obstacles and other sorcerers with nefarious plans. Meanwhile, the politics of the lands they travel through are introduced. Princes, kings, an emperor, dukes, wardens, mages, etc. are introduced as a war is threatening to break out. Treason, double-crossing, spies, & shifting loyalties are revealed. Some of this was a bit boring to me, I'm not a fan of politics & with that much political detail, I do better physically reading to keep track of who is who. However, I knew it had to be important groundwork for what was to come. (Again, I was thinking of the scope of Tolkien in the back of my mind.) The groundwork is intertwined with the rich scenery and cultures that did hold my attention... the world building was wonderful.
The book gained momentum just after halfway, and continued as more information was discovered about the importance of the dagger to the world, not just one country. Alliances are made, and enemies revealed, showing the group what possibly will be required for an epic battle, as they go off to collect more holy relics from various cultures. Edmonson lays groundwork for a series of books focusing on humanity vs an ancient evil that's building in power, and only retrieving the various holy relics from separate cultures will give them a chance at defeating the building evil. Once past the politics, which I'm not fond of in real life, I really enjoyed the story! It's well-written, richly described, and I'll be going to find the second in the Weapon Takers Saga, Bolivar's Sword!

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

good start

When this book first opened up with the English narration and heist for a dagger it got me really excited for some Crown Tower by Michael Sullivan vibes. While the rest of the story didn't quite play out to be as exciting as I thought it could have been, it was a good start to a series. There was a big focus on the characters and getting to understand the relationships between people and territories.

There is a merry little band on the run throughout the book trying to get and then keep Torric's dagger. It seemed very slow at points but I think it all served a purpose of setting us up with what is to come. Its a big world with a lot of players so listening to this instead of reading it was tough at times. I think reading would have been easier for me, but I still really enjoyed the narrator so I didn't mind.

There's magic, fight scenes, and a few unexpected twists. There is no romance but there are potential love matches you see developing. The end isn't really a cliff hanger but it will make you want to jump into the next one!

Great traveling companion fantasy.

This is a great beginning in what is sure to be a superb epic fantasy series. It has everything you could want, a group of travelers, interesting humanoid races, and fantastic world building. Pick this one up if you want a travelling story with a montley crew

Wow that ending!

It was really cool to have a female voice in here. You’ll definitely want to to continue onto the next book!

The narration wasn’t my favorite, as sometimes it was hard for me to distinguish well between the voices. But man, what an exciting tale!

Thoroughly enjoyable

This was a well-written quest style story. The characters were substantially developed and there was a good secondary cast with enjoyable plot and good world-building. What made it interesting for me was the dual narration, a pleasant change and added to the listening. The storyline is the first in a series so this is not a standalone book. I, however, enjoyed the tale enough to want to continue with the next in the series.
This audiobook was gifted to me and I have chosen to leave this review.

A really great listen!

A really good fantasy story with plenty of magic, adventure and intrigue to keep everyone happy! Really well written an really looking forward to starting the next one.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from dual narration, but Greg and Bridget both do a fantastic job and it feels very natural. Both have great character voices too! Highly recommend!
This is my honest opinion of a free review copy.

lost

sadly this has been a book I just couldn't seem to get into and follow. I'm not sure why this was so but I did start this book at least 4 times but every time it didn't get any better.

Balance skewed towards series building

When an author is writing a series, it can often be difficult to get the balance between being a strong book in it's own right as well as setting the scene for the books to follow and this time I think the author didn't get the balance quite right with the ending in particular seeming too abrupt. Despite this complaint, I did enjoy this book overall with it having a varied and interesting cast and effective world-building that should continue to payoff in subsequent books.

The performances of the narrators were both enjoyable and obviously helps to make the characters more distinctive with the two of them sharing the duties which nicely enhanced the overall performance.

Overall, this book is a strong first part of this series and I will look out for future installments, but it could have been a bit stronger in it's own right.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

Good beginning

I really enjoyed the book and storyline. It lagged a little in some places but overall I enjoyed the listen. Its a great adventure story.